Love & Disclosure
by The Yank and The Brit
Summary: #5 in the Steph & Diesel series. Steph tries out her wings and Diesel gets a new assignment
1. Chapter 1

**Love & Disclosure**

**By JanG**

**Disclaimer:** The characters from the world of Stephanie Plum are the sole property of the very talented author: Janet Evanovich. I have only borrowed them and do not wish to make money off of them. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned author. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY.

**Author's Note: **This is the fifth story in my Diesel and Steph series; it follows '_Distractions'_.

Many thanks to AmyF, for beta'ing this piece for me, she helped make this a whole lot better than it would have been without her help.

**Rating: **R for Sexual situations and language.

**oooOOOooo**

**Chapter One**

I stood beneath the hot spray of my shower thinking about my lunch with Ranger earlier in the day. I was both happy and sad at the outcome of our talk. Sad because it was the end of a chapter in which Ranger and I had danced a dance of sexual innuendo; and happy because he and I seemed destined to become close and firm friends. But while that might be our destiny, I wondered if I would be able to cope with the journey.

I still had a major problem though; I loved three men. Each one had a piece of my heart. Both Ranger and Joe could both lay claim to a small part, but I'd given the rest of my heart, plus my body and soul, to Diesel.

Thinking of Diesel made me go warm in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature of the shower. We had been living together for a month now, and believe it or not, I was very happy and comfortable with the situation. A feeling I'd never had when trying to co-habit with Joe, or even when I was married to the Dickhead.

As if my thoughts had conjured him, I heard Diesel's voice calling me.

"I'm in the shower!" I yelled back.

I poked my head around the shower curtain as he entered the bathroom. "Is your job finished or are you just home for the night?"

Closing the lid on the toilet, he sat down and I went back to my shower. "Finished. Do you have plans for this evening?"

"Apart from spending it with you? Nope."

"Great, hurry up and finish your shower. Get dressed up, we're going out."

Turning off the water, I opened the shower curtain and took the towel that Diesel handed me. "Out? As in out on a date? Or out as in work?"

"If we're living together, can we still go out on dates?" Diesel smiled at me. "I'm not sure it would be called a 'date', but I'd really like to take you out to dinner and maybe dancing afterwards?" His eyes sparkled mischievously as they travelled up my bare legs, over my towel clad body, and seemed to stop at my breasts. "How much time do you need to get ready?"

I stepped out of the tub. "An hour?"

Diesel leaned down and, placing a feather-light kiss on my lips, ran a finger along the top of the towel just above my breasts. "Perfect. You're perfect. Now hurry up." I skipped away from him, narrowly missing a playful whack on the butt.

A couple of hours later I was nuzzling his neck as we swayed to the music on the dance floor of a small jazz club. Diesel had one hand on the small of my back and the other was firmly holding mine against his chest. My free hand was curled behind his neck playing with his hair as it spilled over his collar. It was nearly long enough to be tied back in a pony tail again.

I winced as Diesel kissed the corner of my mouth. Pulling back he looked at my still bruised cheek and lip; a reminder of the small confrontation I'd had with a skip the night before, while doing a distraction for Ranger. "Your cheek is a rainbow of colors. It still hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it hurts, but I refuse to hide away because of the way it looks." I shrugged. "Bruises are part and parcel of my job. Next time I'll try to remember to 'pop' away when someone tries to hurt me, I promise." I finished with a smile that promised a lot more.

He held me close again, and as we continued dancing, I realized that I really wanted to be alone with him. Diesel and I were obviously in tune with each other because as I finished that thought he bent his head, nibbled at my ear and whispered, "Let's go home."

Unable to speak, due to the fact that his voice and teeth at my ear had overloaded my senses with desire, I simply nodded. Within ten minutes we were outside in the parking lot walking down the sidewalk. We didn't stop until we'd found a dark alleyway, and then we stepped into the darkness and seconds later we were in our living room.

Diesel pulled me into his arms and kissed me gently, careful not to hurt my wounded lip. "If you want the same thing I do, then we're in the wrong room."

Again I nodded, and holding on to him I teleported the two of us into the bedroom. Materializing next to the bed, both of us stark naked, Diesel chuckled. "I love it when you do that."

I laughed. "At least this time our clothes are in the same room as us." I stroked his naked ass and pulled him against me, the obvious sign of his arousal pressing against my abdomen. I gasped as he lowered his head and sucked on the sensitive skin where my neck joined my shoulder. I clung on to him as my legs suddenly felt like they'd turned to jelly.

Diesel moved his lips to my ear, gently sucking on my earlobe and grazing it with his teeth, while at the same time lifting me up in his strong arms and laying me on the bed. He released my ear only to move down to my chest giving me little open mouthed kisses along the way. When he reached my breast, he took my nipple into his mouth sucking it into a taut peak and biting down gently.

I arched my back in pleasure as he continued to lavish attention on my breasts. Without giving it conscious thought, I opened my mind to him and immediately felt his emotions. All encompassing love flowed from his mind to mine and seemed to shimmer behind my eyes like a warm winter's fire. I wished he could feel my love like I could feel his.

Wanting to show him how much I loved him, I pushed on his shoulders until he turned and lay on his back. I held his face in my hands and kissed him deeply. My tongue stroked his slowly and sensuously. Reluctantly I pulled my lips away from his and kissed my way down his neck to his chest, and then further.

When I reached my goal, I took him into my mouth caressing him with my tongue. My lip hurt as I stretched it, but at that moment pleasing Diesel was more important than any pain I was feeling.

I kept my mind open the whole time, even though his feelings, as they touched my mind were so intense, they were almost painful.

At the edge of my awareness I heard Diesel groan. "Steph, please, no more hon."

I released him and slid up his body, letting my breasts brush his erection before sitting astride his hips. Slowly I lowered myself onto him until he was buried deep inside me. In an instant he flipped us over and I found myself underneath. He picked up the pace, thrusting into me and I could feel the beginnings of an orgasm curling around inside. And then, as if a dam had burst, it came crashing over me. I was unable to even groan let alone scream as wave after wave hit me, rushing through my body and my mind.

Diesel arched up as his eyes closed, and he came. "Oh dear God!" And then he went totally still. Raising his head as he clung to me, he opened his eyes wide and stared at me in disbelief. "What just happened, Steph?"

"Umm... do I need to give you the 'talk' about the facts of life?" I chuckled.

He withdrew from my body and lay down next to me pulling me over so I half lay on his chest.

"I meant when I came; I could feel your mind. I could feel your emotions, your love for me. It was incredible. I was inside your body and inside your mind at the same time."

I nodded against his chest as I caressed his fine blond hairs with my fingers. "That's how I feel every time we make love. It's like I'm making love to your mind as well as your body." Then it hit me and I raised myself up on my elbow to look at him. "You're not an empath, how did you do that?"

"I honestly don't know. My powers are supposed to be fully developed, so I shouldn't be getting any new ones." His fingers were slowly making figure eights on my back. "I think it might be connected to the other night when I felt your fear and pain. I think our love has amplified our powers. It's as if we now have an almost physical link, which kicks in when we're feeling very strong emotions."

"Well, that's good isn't it? I mean, it brings us even closer."

"For us yes, it's definitely better. It's like the old cliché of two halves making up the whole." He smiled at me and kissed me on the tip of my nose. Then his face became serious. "The 'Powers That Be', however, might think very differently about it. To them this connection of ours will seem dangerous. For instance, if you were in trouble somewhere while I was working, then I could easily be distracted."

I grimaced. "It could work the other way too. Neither one of us have, what could be called, safe jobs."

"Yeah." He smiled that killer smile of his. "We'll have to try and keep this connection, or whatever it is, just between us. Okay?"

"Sure." I laid my head down on his chest again. I couldn't stop thinking about being connected at the hip... er... I mean connected at the mind, to Diesel. I thought it was wonderful. Wonderful and totally cool. However, I wasn't so sure that Diesel thought it was. "D, would they try to split us up? You know the 'Powers That Be'? Your bosses?"

"They might. I'd rather not test it, so let's keep it quiet."

With my head on his chest I could hear his heart rate slowing back down to normal, and the sound calmed me. It relaxed me enough to allow me to ask a question that had been bothering me all day.

"D." I waited until I knew I had his attention. "Last night, when Ranger kissed me, you said you weren't jealous, that he was a good man. Why weren't you jealous? Joe would've been shouting at me within fifteen seconds of that kiss."

"I did and do trust you. I instinctively know that you won't cheat on me. That what we have is real and forever. Now I know where that instinct comes from. Our minds have touched, and we just know things about each other without having to think about them."

"Good answer." I smiled and kissed him lightly, then changing position slightly so that my head was nestled on his shoulder, I closed my eyes. "Good night Diesel."

Kissing me on my forehead, he held me close and whispered, "Night my love."

**oooOOOooo**

I awoke the next morning to the smell of fresh coffee. I rolled out of bed and grabbed a robe. It was Diesel's so it was kind of big but it was so soft that I kept it on. I was still rolling up the sleeves when I entered the kitchen.

The first thing I noticed was the white bakery bag on the counter. Donuts.

He'd already gone out and bought donuts.

Diesel was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. I went over to him and kissed him on the lips. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Not this morning you haven't."

"Well I do. Fresh donuts. Who wouldn't love a man who brought them fresh donuts first thing in the morning?"

I poured myself a cup of coffee, added cream and sugar, took a donut and sat down opposite the man in my life. "What are you doing today?"

"Paperwork. I have to write up the report on the job I finished yesterday. Even superheroes have to do paperwork." He got up and poured himself another cup of coffee. "What about you?"

"I have a skip to bring in. I spent three hours at RangeMan yesterday running him through their search programs. Connie had nothing on him." I realized I hadn't told Diesel about lunch with Ranger. "Oh I forgot to tell you, Ranger invited me to lunch yesterday. He wanted to talk, to clear the air, to make sure I was happy." Okay so it wasn't the whole truth but it was pretty close.

"And did you? Are you?" He watched me steadily, but there was a twinkle in the depths of his eyes, almost as if he already knew the answers.

"Yes we did. We're good, and we're friends. Am I happy? After last night, you have to ask me that?" I rolled my eyes at him and took a bite of my donut.

He leaned across the table and thinking he was going to kiss me, my eyes began to close of their own volition. But then I felt his tongue. On my nose. My eyes flew open as I glanced at him curiously. "What...?"

"You had some powdered sugar on your nose, and some more, just here..." He licked my lips and then kissed them.

Diesel went back to his seat and we both sat in silence for a few minutes. Me contemplating my coffee and him reading the sports pages.

"Diesel. About that skip. I'm going to have to call Morelli, I'll need his help."

"Tell him 'hi' from me."

"You don't mind?" How can a man be so laid back about his girlfriend spending time with her ex?

"Steph, I told you last night, I trust you. Joe's a good guy, he won't try anything." Smiling at me he stood, picked up his coffee and another donut, and went into the living room to boot up the computer.

I finished my coffee and went to take a shower.

An hour later I was ready to leave. I leaned over Diesel's shoulder to kiss him goodbye, but instead of kissing him I licked the powdered sugar off his lips and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth.

Diesel actually growled at me. "If you don't stop that – you'll need another shower before you go out."

I reached down into his lap to cop a feel, but he slapped my hand away. I giggled and turned to go. "I'll call you during the day."

"Be careful, Steph. And don't forget you have gifts you can use. You don't have to get hurt or dirty anymore." I nodded in response, and gave a little wave of my hand as I headed out of the room.

Once I was outside and sitting in my car, I took out my cell phone and called Joe. His phone rang twice and then he answered with a gruff "Hello."

That didn't sound promising. "Hello Joe."

"Stephanie," he sighed my name. "What do you want?"

He really didn't sound happy with me. He hadn't even called me Cupcake. Guess we still have a long way to go before he calls me that again. Then again, I'm not surprised. I wouldn't be happy with me either if I were in his shoes. "I was given the file on Steven Kavanagh yesterday. I thought you might want to help me bring him in, with a minimum of fuss."

"I'm not sure I can deal with you yet, Cupcake. But I'm prepared to look at the file. Come down to the station and we'll talk." He called me Cupcake that time, guess things weren't as bleak as I'd thought.

I was about to say bye when I realized he'd disconnected. I should sign both Joe and Ranger up for a class on proper phone etiquette

**oooOOOooo**

I found a space in the parking lot right near the entrance to the police station. Perhaps the parking fairy was smiling on me at last. Now, all I needed was the personal relationships fairy to be nice, and let me get through this meeting with Joe, hopefully without either of us causing a personal injury to someone.

Robin was at the desk as I walked in. "Hey Steph, haven't seen you in a while. How are you?" Her eyes widened as she saw my cheek and lip, although it was a lot better this morning, it was still discolored. "Who did that to you?"

"A skip of Ranger's. I did a distraction job for him a couple of nights ago and the skip didn't exactly co-operate." I smiled lopsidedly. "It's a lot better today."

"So, what are you doing here? You didn't bring in an FTA?" She asked, looking around for any sign of a skip.

I shook my head. "I'm meeting Joe. Is he in?"

"Yeah he's around. Go on back; you know where his office is." She beckoned me over. "You don't mind if I stay far away do you?" She lowered her voice so she wouldn't be overheard. "He hasn't been very nice to be around since you two broke up."

I smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry for that Robin. I'm hoping things will get better after today." I lifted my hand in farewell as I went through the door to the offices.

Making my way to Joe's office I noticed a lot of the guys were avoiding making eye contact. I suppose I deserved it. I really was in the wrong that day when Joe walked in on me and Diesel.

I mentally shrugged. I couldn't change what had happened that day; all I could do was try and make the future better than the present.

Joe was sitting at his desk, a mass of papers spread out in front of him when I arrived. I knocked and he looked up. He almost broke into a smile, then obviously thought better of it and waved me in. From the look he gave me it was obvious that he'd seen my bruised face, but decided not to comment on it. Quietly I sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk holding my skip's file on my lap.

"Joe, I..."

He cut me off. "How did you find out that Steve was my cousin? That information isn't exactly public knowledge."

"Connie didn't have any information on him, so I ran him through Ranger's search programs."

"I know you cheated on me Steph, but I didn't think you'd cheat on the weirdo so soon."

I went into rhino mode instantly. "How dare you Joe. Ranger and I are friends. All I did was use the computer in the RangeMan offices. I'm living with Diesel. I have not and will not cheat on him." I was clenching my teeth so hard I thought they might just shatter. I forced myself to relax; I knew he was angry and hurting but there really was no need for him to be that spiteful. I took a deep breath and started again.

"Joe. It's my job to bring Steven in. I could do it the hard way without your help, and it would cause your family a lot of embarrassment. Or, you could help me to bring him in with the minimum amount of fuss. Your choice."

Joe's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "Steph. I don't think I can do this."

"Try Joe. Please. If not for me, then for your family… for your cousin." I spoke quietly, hoping that he would hear the sorrow in my voice at what I'd done to him. "I'm sorry about what happened. But I can't change the past. Can we at least try and work together?"

Joe stared at me for a few seconds, and then he gave a small nod. "What do you want to know?"

"Well first, this Steven Kavanagh is your first cousin. His mother is your father's sister. How come I've never met him? I thought I knew all your cousins."

"My aunt married a man my father didn't approve of." He smiled wryly. "Her husband was Irish and not Italian. He never spoke to her again. By the time my father died the family had totally lost contact with my aunt, and no one even thought about getting in touch with her and her family. Steve only moved to Trenton about four months ago after my aunt passed away, and decided he wanted to get to know the rest of his family."

I nodded in understanding. Joe's family was very Italian, and wanting to marry someone the family didn't approve of, was the ultimate taboo. "Well, according to the file I have on him, he was caught in a sweep at a club. He had about a hundred Ecstasy tablets on him. I have an address, will you come with me? He might listen to you."

"I haven't spoken to him since the first week he moved here," he sighed and then shrugged his shoulders slightly, "but I'm willing to give it a try."

We walked out of the station, not exactly friends but at least we weren't shouting at each other. Robin caught my eye as we went past the front desk and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged my shoulders in answer.

We climbed into my car, and I drove to the address I had listed for Steven Kavanagh. I pulled up across the street from a neat apartment building. Not fancy, but still nice. Not a word had been said during the drive. Joe's silence was making me nervous. I kept thinking he was going to blow up at any moment. He got out of my car shutting the door a little too loudly, and crossed the road to Kavanagh's apartment.

I caught up with him by the mailboxes. Finding Kavanagh's, I noticed it was full to the point of over-flowing with mail. "It doesn't look like he's home, or he would've taken his mail in."

Joe still didn't say anything to me as he pushed open the front door and started up the stairs. I would have preferred to use the elevator but for the sake of peace, I trudged up behind him.

I was glad that I did because I had a wonderful view of his butt, just level with my face as he walked a few steps ahead of me. I shook my head to clear it of thoughts that shouldn't have been there. "His apartment is 3C."

Joe nodded and continued up the next flight of stairs. Coming out onto the hallway, I noticed it was carpeted and clean. Joe led the way to Steven's apartment and knocked. Silence. We waited a minute and then I knocked. Again silence. Joe tried the door knob. The door didn't move; it was definitely locked.

Joe took a small metal tool out of his pocket and started to insert it in the lock. I reached out and put my hand on his to stop him. He looked up at me and then down at my hand. His hand jerked as if trying to shake my hand off.

I shook my head slightly, but removed my hand. "Let me do it Joe," I glanced at the lock. "I can open the door."

"Oh so you've been studying breaking and entering 101 now, have you?"

"No Joe." I placed my hand over the lock and heard the tumblers move. "Try it now."

Joe turned the handle and the door swung open. "How...?"

"We did tell you, that day in Pino's, that I was special."

"What else can you do? You know what, I don't want to know." Shaking his head he entered his cousin's apartment.

We quietly made our way from room to room. Everything seemed normal until we reached the kitchen. On the table was a plate with moldy food and half a bottle of flat beer. The sink was full of dishes. It looked like someone had just gotten up and left everything. But we knew that wasn't the case because everywhere else in the kitchen there were signs of a struggle. Chairs were knocked over, papers and even cutlery were on the floor. Steven had not left willingly.

Joe picked up one of the chairs and sat down heavily on it. "Gone. And by the looks of things, not of his own free will."

I sat on one of the few upright chairs and rested my elbows on the kitchen table. "Joe. Please. If we're going to work together to bring Steven back into the system you have to talk to me, to look at me." I sighed. "I'm not a monster. I made a mistake, and I've apologized. I know it doesn't make what I did right, but it shows that I know I was in the wrong. Aside from our physical relationship, we were friends. I miss you."

Joe looked me straight in the eyes and when he started to speak, it was obvious that he spoke straight from his heart. "Steph, I love you. I will probably always love you. But you hurt me and right now I'm having a lot of trouble getting past the anger I feel. We need to find Steve but I can't treat you as a friend. The most I can do right now is try to treat you like a work colleague."

"Understood." I nodded. "Colleagues; that's a start at least."

We sat there for a moment or two. I didn't know what Joe was thinking, and right now I wasn't in the mood to find out. What I was trying to do was work out who'd had a fight in this kitchen. And where was Kavanagh? Had he run off or been forced to leave?

Joe stood up, and looked speculatively at me. "I'm going back to the station. I'm going to ask some questions about the sweep that Steve was caught in, and then I'm going to ask my family, see if anyone knows of a girlfriend or anyone that might be hiding him."

"What about the club where he was caught? What if I go there this evening, ask around, see if I can find out anything?" We walked out of the apartment as I was talking and I did my party trick on the door to lock it again. Joe raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Don't go alone."

"I won't. I'll get either Diesel or Ranger to go with me." We had reached the mailboxes by this time and I wondered how I could take Kavanagh's mail without Joe blowing his top. Tampering with the U.S. Mail was a federal offense after all, but picking up mail from the floor wasn't.

I put my hand on the lock of the mailbox and... "Oops, did I do that? I still haven't quite got the hang of these powers yet. I'd better clear all this up." I knelt down and started going through the mail. Looking up briefly at Joe, I couldn't help but notice that he was grinning.

"I didn't see that. I'll go wait for you in the car while you pick up that mess, give me your keys."

Handing him my car keys, I went back to sorting through the mess on the floor. Bills mostly. Nothing personal. Nothing that could be of use. Except, oh yes, the phone bill. If I struck out at the Blue Stocking Club tonight, then the phone bill might give me some information. Stuffing the envelope in my purse, I put the rest of the mail back in the box and locked it. I then headed out to join Joe at the car.

I drove Joe back to the station and then went home. Diesel was still sitting at the computer, tapping away. He looked up as I came over to him and I bent down and kissed him full on the mouth, with just the tiniest bit of tongue. "Mmmm... missed you."

"Missed you too. How's Joe?"

"About the same, but at least he's talking to me, so there's some improvement." I walked into the kitchen and got myself a cup of coffee. Bless him, he'd made a fresh pot. "I need a date for this evening. I've got to go to the club where my skip was originally arrested and do some snooping. Can you come with me?"

"I'm sorry Steph, not tonight. I have a meeting at ten."

"That's a bit late for a meeting, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately time doesn't mean much to the 'Powers That Be'."

"Oh. Problem?" I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew things had been going too well between us for there not to be a problem. "Is it because of you and me?"

"I don't know hon. I hope not. Perhaps it's just a new assignment."

"D, you won't hide anything from me will you?" I put my coffee cup down next to the computer monitor and leaned against the table. "I mean if they give you an ultimatum or anything?"

"I promise Steph, I'll tell you everything as soon as I know. Okay?" He grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto his lap. "Now about tonight. Ask Ranger to go, if he's with you, I know you'll be safe and I won't have to worry about being distracted during the meeting."

Putting my arms around his neck I leaned down and kissed him softly. "I can take care of myself, you know."

Diesel tightened his hold on me. "I know you can, love, but I'll be happier if Ranger's there to watch your back, especially since I'm meeting with the head honchos." I shivered as he nuzzled my neck. "I wish we could continue this, but I've got to get this report done. It's taking a lot longer than I thought."

Reluctantly I slid off his lap. "No worries. We'll make up for it tonight. I should get over to RangeMan and speak to Ranger anyway." I leaned back down and kissed his cheek. "Good luck tonight."

Diesel winked and gave me the full dimpled smile. "I've got you, that's all the luck I need."

I couldn't keep the grin off my face as I headed back out of the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Pulling into the garage under the RangeMan building, I drove into the spot that was always empty and waiting for me. I think that everyone has unofficially agreed that it's my private parking space.

As I waited for the elevator, I waved at the camera, smiling at the guys on monitor duty. When the elevator finally arrived, I rode it up to the fifth floor. I was looking for Ranger and if he wasn't there I'd settle for Tank. Stepping off the car once it reached its destination, I saw Tank coming out of Ranger's office

"Hi Tank. Is he in?" I nodded in the direction of the room behind him.

"Meeting at a client's office. He'll be back in an hour. Was it important?"

I shrugged, "Not really. I'd like his help with something and I need to talk to him first." That put me in a dilemma. I had an hour to kill. I guess I could wait. "If you've got any searches that need doing, I could kill some time helping out?"

Tank shook his head. "No work at the moment. You could wait on seven if you want. You'd be more comfortable up there."

"Thanks Tank." I smiled. "Will you tell Ranger I'm waiting for him when he gets back?"

"Sure."

I stepped back onto the elevator and prayed that Ranger hadn't deactivated my RangeMan key fob for seventh floor access. I pushed seven, pressed the remote on the fob and the car started to move upwards. Good, I still had access.

As I reached the seventh floor, I realized I had another problem. I'd left my door key on the hall table before I left Ranger's after lunch the previous day. Now that I thought about it, Tank obviously hadn't been informed that I no longer had a key to the seventh floor apartment. Ranger, however, would know that and would want to know how I'd entered his apartment without a key.

Mentally shrugging, I thought that he'd have to find out about me at some point, and this was as good a time as any. I did my thing with the door and entered. The calmness of Ranger's inner sanctum washed over me. I loved this apartment.

I wandered into the kitchen and helped myself to a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Carrying my water into the living room, I settled down on the couch to wait for Ranger. Leaning my head back, I thought about my life. I thought about it for all of five minutes before I dozed off.

Sometime later, I slowly awoke from a confused dream about Diesel and people with angel's wings sitting on clouds, and became aware of the scent of Bulgari. Opening my eyes**,** I wasn't surprised to see Ranger sitting in the armchair opposite me. He was watching me with a steady gaze.

"Babe. Mind telling me how you got in without a key?"

You have to hand it to Ranger, he never beats around the bush. He goes straight for the jugular every time.

"I er... picked the lock?" I knew he didn't believe me.

He confirmed that by imperceptibly shaking his head. "The truth Babe."

In lieu of an answer, I stood up and beckoned to him to follow me to the front door. I touched the door and locked it. "Try and open the door."

Ranger reached for the handle and raised an eyebrow when it wouldn't turn.

I touched the lock again. "Try it again."

This time it opened easily for him. "Babe, do you have something to tell me?"

"Yeah, I do." I led the way back over to the couch. "How much do you know about Diesel… about what he does?"

"I know him. We aren't friends, but we've run across each other from time to time. We're in the same business."

"Right, in a way you are. But he's a little different. He calls himself an Unmentionable. He has special... powers, for want of a better word." I took a deep breath, it was now or never. "So do I. Have special powers that is." Ranger raised that eyebrow again and I rushed back into speech. "I can do stuff with locks, and some other stuff."

"Do I want to know about the 'other stuff'?"

"Hmm... better you don't know, I think. At least for now, anyway." I grinned at him. "But I didn't come here to show off my new abilities. I need your help."

"With?"

I explained about Steven Kavanagh and his relationship to Joe. How he had been picked up for pushing in a sweep at the Blue Stocking Club. I described what Joe and I had found at his cousin's apartment and that Morelli was going to make discreet inquiries with his family about possible girlfriends or friends, and at work about the sweep and arrests.

"Which brings me to why I need your help. I want to go to the club this evening and snoop around."

"I don't snoop, Babe." The corners of his mouth tipped up in that 'thinking about smiling' smile. "But I will ask questions, if that's what you want me to do."

"I hate to ask this of you, especially after our talk yesterday," I looked down at the floor, I didn't dare look at him, "but could you pretend to be my date?"

"Babe."

Still unable to look at him, I kept talking, knowing that if I stopped now, I'd never be able to continue. "It'll look less suspicious if we're together, and Diesel's okay with it. He actually suggested I ask you." Okay Diesel didn't actually suggest I ask Ranger to act as my date, but he did tell me to ask Ranger to go with me.

He gave an imperceptible nod. "Nine? I'll pick you up at your apartment."

I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him. He gave me a nod in farewell and turned to head towards the kitchen. I hadn't realized how much I'd been dreading asking him to help. The fact that he had agreed so easily was a weight off my mind. As I walked out of the apartment to go down to my car and head home, I was thinking that I really needed to take a nap before getting ready for the evening.

**oooOOOooo**

I was dressed and ready well before nine that evening. I'd come home to find that Diesel had already left. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the small bunch of daisies sitting in a large glass of water on the dining room table.

Now, as I sat on the sofa waiting for Ranger, I tapped my foot anxiously and stared at the flowers. I was feeling nervous. I'd never felt nervous before when going on a job with Ranger, even when we were going to do the most dangerous of distractions. But things were different this time. I was no longer a free agent. Even when I'd been with Joe, I hadn't felt bad about going on a job with Ranger.

Perhaps it was because I'd asked him to act as my date. Diesel knew Ranger was going with me, and it was work after all. Somehow it just felt wrong but I was going to have to deal with it. I had work to do.

At exactly nine o'clock Ranger knocked on the door. After letting him in, I went to go grab my purse and jacket. When I came back out of my bedroom I found him standing by the dining table staring at the small bouquet of daisies. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Daisies?"

"They're my favorite flower." I shrugged my jacket on and followed him out of my apartment. I shut the door behind us and locked up, this time using the key, just for a change.

I headed down the hall towards the elevator, but Ranger stopped by the stairwell.

"Stairs are quicker."

I couldn't help but think I could get us down to the car or even to the club in record time, but I wasn't ready for Ranger to know about the rest of my powers yet. So instead, I rolled my eyes at him. "Not in these heels they're not!"

I walked over to the elevator, and Ranger headed for the stairs. A few minutes later we met up at his car.

Ranger had brought the Porsche and I sunk into the leather seat with a sigh. I love this car. Once on the road, he went into his zone and there was silence in the car as we drove to the Blue Stocking Club.

Ranger found a spot right near the entrance; his parking karma was obviously still working.

I started to chew on my finger, wondering how we were going to find out the information we needed. This wasn't like a distraction. I hadn't really done anything like this before with Ranger. Ranger must have picked up on my indecision because before he opened the car door he turned to face me.

"How do you want to handle this? Do you want me to take point?"

Suddenly he'd made everything seem easy. "I'm not really sure. I thought we could go in, dance a bit then work the room. You know, maybe try and find out if anyone has any Ecstasy to sell or if they're using. Perhaps get some names." As I was speaking, I checked my make-up in the mirror on the sun visor. "If it's okay with you, I'll run any names we get through the RangeMan computer tomorrow."

I shrugged out of my jacket, deciding to leave it in the car. As I opened the passenger door, I looked up to see Ranger standing there. I stared at him, momentarily stunned. I hadn't realized he'd left the car and I never heard his door close. Batman strikes again. He reached out his hand to assist me out of the Porsche and with his hand on the small of my back, he guided me to the entrance of the club.

As soon as we entered the building, I realized it was going to be difficult to find out anything. It was wall-to-wall people, and the music was so loud it was as if I could hear it through my skin. The flashing strobe lights made it appear as if everyone was moving in slow motion, which was extremely disorientating and even a little nauseating.

We made our way to the packed dance floor and squeezed between the gyrating bodies until we found a space. Ranger pulled me against him and we tried to dance. It was almost impossible. We managed to sway a little, but all we really managed to do was rub up against each other.

Unfortunately that awakened feelings in me that I'd rather have left sleeping. Looking up at Ranger's face, I saw that our movements were having the same effect on him. I caught his eye and shaking my head, I grabbed his hand to lead him off the floor to the bar.

Ranger ordered a couple of beers and when the bartender brought them over, I turned my back on Ranger and smiled flirtatiously at the guy. He could have been a candidate for RangeMan. The man was tall, well muscled and absolutely gorgeous. Hey, I'm not blind! I leaned forward on the bar and I'm pretty sure he was getting an eyeful.

"This is a really great club. But I'd like to feel the music, you know, like _really_ feel the music." I flicked my hair away from my face with one hand. "Who should a girl see around here to get some… assistance in that department?"

He didn't seem to be phased by my cleavage, either he was gay or he saw enough skin on a nightly basis that he just wasn't impressed with the results of my Wonderbra. But he did nod his head in the direction of the end of the bar. "See Rollo. Tall guy. Lots of gold chains."

I winked at him "Thanks, handsome."

Turning back to Ranger, I pulled at the front of his shirt to bring him down a little so he could hear what I had to say without having to shout. "Did you hear that? Do you think you can find out his full name?"

He nodded without saying anything and, carrying his beer, he made his way to the end of the bar where business was obviously being done. I stayed where I was and slowly drank my beer, tapping my foot to the music.

Ranger was back at my side within ten minutes. He didn't say anything, just put his hand on my elbow and gently guided me through the crowd towards the exit.

Once we were safely back in the car, Ranger turned to me. "Got his name Babe. He's well known on the street. Not a guy to mess with." He started the engine, put it in gear and drove in the direction of my apartment.

"Are you going to give me the name or are you going to keep me out of this." I was ready to fight for the right to be in on this investigation. "I won't let you, you know, he's my only lead to the skip."

Ranger slanted a glance over at me before turning his attention back on the road. "Be at RangeMan tomorrow morning. All the relevant information will be waiting for you. You can run him through the search programs."

I had to take a deep breath to calm myself; I had been ready to slip into rhino mode just as easily as Ranger can slip into his driving 'zone'. Which he did then, of course, and silence reigned until we arrived in the lot behind my building.

"Thank you for coming with me this evening, Ranger."

"No problem Babe. Told you many times, there's no price for what we give each other.

"Thank you." I leaned across the console and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight."

I wasn't sure if he was shocked by my behavior or not because he said nothing, just watched me as I got out of the car. As I walked into my building I heard the purr of the engine as the Porsche left the lot.

Making my way up to my apartment my mind wandered away from Ranger, Kavanagh and the lead; I started to think about Diesel and his meeting with his bosses. If the meeting was about us, I began to wonder about what they could or would do to him. Fire him? Could they take away his abilities? Could they force him not to see me anymore? I couldn't face that.

The apartment was silent apart from the squeak of Rex's wheel. Diesel obviously wasn't home yet. I dropped my purse on the kitchen counter and slung my jacket over the back of a chair.

"Hey Rex. How're you doing?" He stopped his running for a nanosecond and twitched his whiskers. I dropped some hamster pellets in his dish and fished a couple of grapes out of the refrigerator for him. As soon as the grapes landed in his dish, he left his nightly exercise, stuffed a grape into his cheek and dived into his soup can. "And goodnight to you too!"

I had no idea when Diesel was going to be home so I got ready for bed. I put on one of his t-shirts and crawled under the blankets. Pulling his pillow towards me, I cuddled it to my chest and fell asleep thinking of him holding me in his arms.

I was in the middle of a totally hot dream when I realized I wasn't sleeping anymore.

Diesel was between my legs, doing things with that tongue and mouth of his that almost made me swoon. I pushed myself against him and he sucked harder. Without warning, I came so hard I thought I really would swoon. He moved up in the bed to hold me in his arms while my breathing settled back to normal.

I raised my face to kiss him and he held me tighter as he returned my kiss ten-fold. His hands started to wander pulling my shirt up and over my head, giving him better access to my body but I pushed away from him. "D, thank you for a wonderful wake up, but before we do anything else, are you saying goodbye?"

Diesel rolled over onto his back pulling me on top of his naked body. Holding me lightly against his chest, he laughed his eyes alight with happiness. "No darling. Not goodbye. Never goodbye. We were worried for nothing. In a round about way the 'Powers That Be' have given us their seal of approval."

Bracing my hands on his chest, I raised myself up. "You're kidding me. Is that why they called you in so late? Just to tell you that we can stay together?

"Not exactly. It's a new job of sorts."

"Is it going to take you away for a long time?" I'd gotten used to having him around on a somewhat permanent basis.

"Nope, this doesn't involve any travel. It's a local job. In fact it's another training job. It seems that the 'Powers That Be' are so pleased with the last training I did..." He stopped to pull me back down and kiss me.

"Have you trained many Unmentionables?" I asked when the kiss ended.

"No, you're the first. I usually track down Unmentionables that have gone haywire, you know that. However, they're really impressed with your progress, so..."

"Do you mean that they're watching me?" I pulled the sheet up against my chest and gave a furtive glance around the bedroom, just in case they were watching at that moment.

Diesel moved his hands from my waist to my behind where he started to stroke my cheeks. "They don't have to, I'm here. I send progress reports back."

"Who will you be training? Is it another woman?" I gave him a playful slap on his chest. "You'd better behave yourself if it is."

"Yeah it's a female. And you know her."

"I do? A female? And you've been assigned to train her?" I felt a stab of jealousy. "Who is she? Does she live here in Trenton?"

Diesel's smile widened. "Yes she lives right here in Trenton, in the Burg in fact. You know all about her, you're even quite close to her."

I felt my eyes widen as I realized whom he was talking about. "Surely she's too young."

Still smiling, he shook his head slightly. "It's a long term project. I've been charged with watching over her, nurturing her budding talents and to help her focus her abilities as she grows up." He hugged me to him. "It means that I'm free to live here, to put down roots. That is, if you want me to stick around."

"Want you? Oh yeah, I want you. Come here." I deftly flipped us over so that he was on top. I opened my legs and he slipped between them. I could feel him nudging against me, so I angled my hips and he entered me in one swift movement. I gasped as he buried himself inside me.

Sometimes we made love slow and sensuously, sometimes fast and furious. This was a fast and furious moment. We couldn't seem to get enough of each other. I met every thrust of his with one of my own. We both kissed and sucked wherever we could reach. When we climaxed, it was together, and it was immensely satisfying.

We lay together afterwards holding each other, touching and stroking, our legs entangled.

I was feeling euphoric. Not only were Diesel's bosses not splitting us up, but they had just given us their blessing. "Will you still be chasing down crazy Unmentionables."

"Yep, Mary Alice is just an extra job. A long term, permanent job if you want to call it that. One that I'm going to really enjoy, and I get to have you help me with it."

Smiling, I snuggled against him and we fell asleep in each other's arms, secure in our love.

**oooOOOooo**

Once again I awoke to the wonderful smell of freshly brewed coffee. This time, however, it was a kiss that did the actual waking.

"Mmmm. A kiss and fresh coffee. I love you."

Diesel chuckled. "Come on sleepy head. You can't stay in bed all day." He pulled the blankets off me. "How did it go at the club last night? Any trouble?"

"Nope, no trouble. Ranger got a name," scowling, I half sat up and grabbed at the blankets to pull them back up. "I've got to get over to RangeMan and run it through their search programs." I reached for my coffee, which he'd placed on the night table. "I have a gut feeling that this guy will lead me to my skip. What about you? What are you doing today?"

"I received an e-mail early this morning. I've also got a skip to track down. I'll be in Seattle all day, but with a bit of luck I'll be home tonight." Taking my coffee cup out of my hand and placing it back on the night table, he leaned down and kissed me.

Reaching up, I hooked my arm around his neck and held him close. I deepened the kiss, not wanting to let him go. Diesel pulled far enough away to give himself enough room to speak. "Steph, you have to let me go. I'll try and get home tonight. I promise." Reluctantly I let him go, but not before pulling him back down for one more kiss.

He stood up, walked over to the closet to get a jacket and then he was gone. Seattle. I was impressed. I wasn't sure I was ready to teleport over that kind of distance.

I finished my coffee and got myself ready to start my day. As soon as I was dressed in my usual jeans and long sleeved t-shirt, I gave Rex some breakfast.

After I'd made sure I had all my bounty hunter paraphernalia in my purse, I debated whether or not to take my car. Realizing I couldn't teleport into RangeMan without being caught on camera as I materialized, I decided to take my car.

The drive to Haywood took longer than usual, for some reason the traffic was much heavier than was normal for the Burg. Parking in my spot in the underground garage of RangeMan I got out of my car and waved at the security camera while I waited for the elevator.

Reaching my cubicle, I followed my usual routine of switching on the computer and then going in search of a caffeine fix.

When I got back to my desk, Ranger was leaning against it, arms folded across his chest. "Babe."

"Good morning, Ranger," I said, putting emphasis on the 'good morning'; I'm going to get him to say hello and goodbye properly if it's the last thing I do.

He ignored my sarcasm and handed me a slip of paper. "That's the dealer's full name. Call me when you get through and I'll assign a couple of men to go with you."

"Thanks." I sat down in my chair and opened up the first search program. I looked up to say 'bye' to Ranger, but he was already gone, moving like a ghost as usual.

I looked at the name Ranger had given me, Cesar Barrantes. I keyed the name into the first program and sat back to drink my coffee as the computer searched through unknown databases looking for information. I wondered briefly how Cesar came to have 'Rollo' as a street name.

While I was waiting for the computer to do its stuff, I called Joe. I told him what Ranger and I had found at the club and that I was doing a search on a guy called Cesar 'Rollo' Barrantes.

He, in turn, told me that his family knew nothing about Steve, and the sweep had only picked up a few users and Steven. I disconnected after telling him I would call as soon as I knew anything more.

A couple of hours later I had pages of printed search results. I knew where Rollo lived, where he hung out, who his girlfriend was and who he was cheating on her with. Now I just had to find out where he was right now.

I sat back in my chair trying to talk myself out of what I knew I was going to do. It was dangerous and if I was seen I might be taken away by men in white coats, examined and then dissected and examined again.

I didn't have much of a choice. This guy wasn't Burg; I couldn't call on my family or friends to give me information on his whereabouts. But I also didn't want Ranger or his men to come with me. I wanted to do this on my own, and if I took my car, Ranger would know exactly where I was.

Question was, how was I going to pull it off?

The only places that weren't covered by security cameras in the RangeMan building were Ranger's apartment on seven, the employee apartments on four and the bathrooms. I really didn't want to go to seven; I couldn't run the risk of bumping into Ranger. So the bathroom it had to be.

As soon as I was safely inside one of the stalls, I whisked myself to Cesar's home address. I materialized just inside a dingy alley and the smell of rotting garbage hit me as soon as I took my first breath.

Opposite me was the run down apartment building that had been listed as his official residence. I hesitated only briefly before crossing the road and making my way into the building. Upon entering the lobby, my eyes immediately began to smart from the stench of ammonia. Obviously the area around the staircase was regularly used as a public urinal.

Picking my way through the flotsam and jetsam of slum life, I made my way up the stairs to the second floor. I heard music coming from inside 2D, so I knocked loudly and the music was immediately switched off. I was about to knock again when the door opened and a tired middle-aged woman stood there in a torn and stained housecoat.

"Whacha want?"

I reeled from the reek of alcohol on her breath. "I'm looking for Cesar Barrantes. Does he live here?"

"Not anymore. He ain't lived here for two years – not since my old man kicked him out." Before I could ask anything else, she slammed the door in my face.

I waited until I was in the stairwell, and the coast was clear**,** before I 'popped' out of the building and on to the street outside where Barrantes' girlfriend lived. I was lucky there was no one about, because I'd materialized out in the open. I was doubly lucky when I saw who had just pulled up outside the house I was going to watch. I ducked down behind a car hoping Barrantes hadn't seen me.

Flipping open my cell, I called Joe.

"Joe. I've found Barrantes... It doesn't matter how, all you need to know is that I got a lead on him, and I've found him. I'm outside the house he's in right now. Trouble is, I don't have my car with me... never mind how I got here... no you don't want to know... Joe will you listen to me... Can you get over here fast so we can follow him when he leaves? Thanks." I gave him the address and disconnected.

I looked around trying to find something better than a junked out old car to hide behind. The whole area was wasted and the old heap was the best there was; so I walked over and hunkered down behind it to wait for Joe.

There is nothing I hate more than surveillance. This time it was worse than usual, I didn't even have a seat in a car to sit on. Damn. I should have used my car. I had nothing to eat and nothing to drink; I hoped Joe wouldn't be long.

I wondered if anyone at RangeMan was wondering where I'd gotten to. Had they checked the bathroom and found the empty locked stall? I was still pondering how I would explain my disappearance, when Joe pulled up in his SUV.

I smiled at him as I climbed into the passenger seat. "He's still in there."

"I called Manoso. I had a feeling you'd skipped out without telling anyone where you were going. Knowing him, if he'd known you were coming here, he would have sent back up with you. He wants to know how you got out of the building without anyone seeing you."

"What did you tell him?"

"Told him he was better off not knowing. He did, however, say he was bringing a team out. Said this guy is bad news, and I agree with him." He raised his voice a notch. "What on earth made you think you could go after Rollo Barrantes alone?"

"Joe, don't start." I was just about to tell him that he had no right to start on that subject again, when a RangeMan vehicle pulled up behind us. We climbed out of Joe's SUV and joined Ranger at his vehicle. He'd brought Tank, Ram and Bobby. I thought that was overkill.

Ranger had his blank face on, but he was radiating danger. He looked at me and I knew that it was because he was angry with me. I gave him a wide-eyed innocent look.

Shaking his head as if in disbelief, Ranger handed me and Joe headsets. He then proceeded to blow my idea about following Rollo, right out of the water.

"Word on the street is that Rollo is hiding someone from the cops at this address. This someone has intel on Rollo that the cops would love to get their hands on." Ranger looked at Joe, "I'm assuming the 'someone' in question is your cousin and he cut a deal with the cops. Rollo would naturally be upset."

Joe nodded. Once again it seemed that Joe was back to playing the old game of keeping things to himself. I wonder if he'd ever planned on telling me that his cousin had 'talked' and that's why he'd been allowed to post bail.

"We need to get him out of there. So, how are we going to do this?" I asked looking at Ranger, but Joe answered.

"There's no 'we' Cupcake. You're staying out here. I'm fairly certain it's going to get rough before we can get Steve out. I'm sure Diesel wouldn't want you hurt."

He thought he'd played his trump card, but little did he know about the ace up my sleeve. Diesel knew I could look after myself now, but they didn't. Boy, were they going to be in for a surprise. So, I put on my best false angry face, folded my arms across my chest and grudgingly agreed to stay outside, where it was safe, while they played at being macho men.

Joe narrowed his eyes at me and I'm pretty sure he knew I was planning something. I tried to keep my face blank and innocent. Not sure I succeeded.

We tested the headsets and they moved out. Ranger and Tank went around the back and Joe, Ram and Bobby went to the front door. I could hear their voices through the headsets. Joe banged on the door and a voice yelled, "Yeah wad'ya want?"

Joe answered, raising his voice to be heard through the door, "Joe Morelli, Trenton PD. I'm looking for my cousin Steven Kavanagh, I was told I might find him here." An instant later I heard gun shots and someone made a grunt as if they'd been hit. There was a crash followed by a second, I guessed that was the front and back doors being kicked open.

I held my breath as I listened to more gun shots and a lot of shouting. I did my best not to think about all the shooting and who had gotten hurt. Instead I thought about my skip. It seemed to me that we had run out of options, Kavanagh was in there and probably in the crossfire. I knew I needed to get him out.

I concentrated on his image as I remembered it from his file, and instantly I was standing next to him where he was tied to a chair. I held on to him and teleported him out of the crossfire, removing his bonds in the process. The last thing I heard before I left the house was Joe shouting. "Steph, what the fuck?"

Standing next to Ranger's truck, I checked Kavanagh over. Aside from looking totally dazed, and having some bruising from his captivity, he didn't appear to have any serious injuries. He obviously had no idea what had just happened, and I wasn't about to tell him.

My heart was in my throat while I waited for the men to come out. I knew someone had been hit, and I didn't want anyone I cared about to be hurt. Impatiently, I watched the front of the dilapidated house from the comparative safety of the truck.

Steven had sunk down on the pavement and was leaning back against the side of the truck. "How did you get me out of there? It felt like one minute I was tied to a chair, with bullets whizzing around my head, and the next I was out here."

"We walked out, you must have been in shock and that's why you don't remember." I crossed my fingers behind my back as I told the white lie. "I'm Stephanie Plum, by the way. I work for your bail bondsman, Vincent Plum. You know I've got to take you in to be rebonded, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yes I know. I'm innocent though. Rollo planted the drugs on me."

"I'd guessed that from all the information I've managed to gather. Joe will help you, I'm sure, and you'll be acquitted." Just then there was a commotion at the front of the building as Ranger came into view dragging Barrantes, who was cuffed and looking a lot worse for wear.

I stood up and moved towards the group, trying to see who had been shot. I sighed with relief when I noticed that both Ranger and Joe seemed okay, then I noticed Ram was walking with one hand clamped to his upper arm and there was blood seeping through his fingers. He was walking on his own, so I guessed it wasn't that bad, probably just a flesh wound. I'd had a few myself, so I knew from experience that they hurt like shit.

Joe reached me and slung an arm around my shoulders. "That was some party trick you pulled in there. I guess that explains how you got here without your car."

"Yeah. It's a lot quicker than driving."

"I imagine it would be."

I opened my mouth to ask him not to say anything to anyone when he forestalled me.

"Don't worry Cupcake, no one will find out from me." We were joined by Ranger after he'd handed off Barrantes to Tank. All three Rangemen and Barrantes were waiting in the truck for Ranger to join them.

"Not from me either, Babe. Didn't see anything. Don't believe in supernatural hocus pocus anyway." Ranger gave me the full 200 watts and pulled me towards him to kiss my forehead. "Take care Babe." And he climbed into the driver's seat and drove away.

"Joe, where's he taking Rollo?"

Joe was helping Kavanagh stand up. "There are outstanding warrants on him. Ranger's taking him in." He turned to speak to his cousin. "Steve, I'm sorry to do this but I've got to cuff you, it's standard procedure." Steve nodded and turned around to allow Joe to cuff his hands behind his back.

We all piled into Joe's SUV to drive back to the police station. Steve needed to be rebooked, and I needed to collect my body receipt. It was a silent ride, Joe and I didn't want to discuss anything in front of Steve and besides, I think he was still in shock.

Once we arrived at the station I handed Kavanagh over to Big Dog who was doing a stint at the desk, received my body receipt and made my way back outside.

Joe was waiting for me by his vehicle. "Do I need to give you a ride home?"

I smiled at him. "No, I have my own transportation." I became serious as I realized that we were now talking to each other almost like old times. "Are we okay now Joe?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You hurt me and I don't think I'll ever forget that. But I've realized that we need to move forward, so, yeah we're okay."

I leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you Joe." I turned around and walked around the side of the lot where I knew there were no cameras and 'popped' home. My first thought after arriving in my living room was, 'oh shit my car's still at RangeMan'.

**Epilogue**

Diesel and I were sitting opposite each other at my parents' dinner table. Everyone was there, including Val, Albert and their girls. Mary Alice was sitting next to Diesel and every so often he would bend down and say something quietly to her. Sometimes she would nod, and sometimes she would look up at him and give him a brilliant smile.

I caught Diesel's eye and winked at him, and he gave me his gorgeous sexy smile in return. I was happy. Everything was right in the Stephanie Plum world. Hell even my mom had told me before dinner that she liked Diesel. Her exact words were, "He may not be Italian but he's got a good heart."

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I would go one step further. Not only does he have a good heart, he has a good everything!

**The end... for now**


End file.
